That Wretched Valentines Day
by KenRik
Summary: Oneshot. Tomoka amidst being of the age of sixteen has never ever been in a relationship no matter how much she wanted to. So on the day of hearts, she goes psycho. TomoKai. RyoSaku.


_Disclaimer: I do not own POT. _

Tomoka Osakada stood in front of a confectioner's shop with a face brimming with bitterness. Her hazel eyes darkened dangerously at the glistening sight of several chocolate cakes, bars, and whatnots. Her small body was sizzling with pent up rage, rage directed mostly at the sweet goods shaped in time for the holiday she once went ballistic over,

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><p>That <em>Wretched<em> Valentine's Day

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><p>That holiday was so wrong, she gritted to herself.<p>

Bringing her hand up, she rested her front of her palm on the cool surface of the transparent glass separating her from the insides of the damned shop. And suddenly, she started sniffling in frustration.

"I hate this!" She cried to the heavens. "Why don't I have a boyfriend?"

She had no one. Not even once did anyone dare confess to her. Not even once was she out on a date. Not even once did she have a boyfriend in her sixteen years of living this forgone young life of hers. NEVER. And it was just dawning in. She only had less than two years before going to college. If she didn't find anyone soon, she'd go insane.

"No!" She wailed yet again. As her eyes brimmed with unshed tears, she could still make out the delicious cakes before her. And every single one of them was mocking her. Gritting her teeth in rage, she unconsciously stared pressing heavily on the, now, two hands she's placed leaning on the glass window's surface. And before she knew it, she slipped and fell on the cemented sidewalk with a loud thud. Thus ensued another wave of sniffling and depressed moaning. She couldn't care less about the people murmuring and giggling at her demise. No. Not today. Today, she had a greater enemy.

"Tomo-chan?" A sweet-sounding voice suddenly called out. Looking up with her eyes blurred by hot tears, she blinked as she took sight of an angel with a white face and long auburn hair. Was this the salvation she was waiting for? She couldn't help but smile at the thought.

Oh god, she continued thinking drearily, be my salvation.

"What are you doing on the floor?" The gentle voice continued to talk, making Tomoka smile at its kindness. Amidst her blurred vision, the image before her was, no doubt, an angel. Suddenly, another image emerged behind the beautiful angel with the auburn hair.

"Has she gone mad?" Tomoka's brow creased in question. The other figure was a lot bigger, with relatively short ebony locks and a haughty facial expression. A realization dawned on her mind, making her eyes widen in shock.

A devil?

Shaking her head, she looked down and started rubbing away the tears that were practically embedded on her face. Then, she looked up again. But before she knew it, she was being pulled up by the angel.

"What happened to you, Tomo-chan?" Tomoka turned her head to her rescuer. And lo and behold, it was only her best friend. It took her a few minutes to take in her stupidity. But soon enough, she started wailing once more, turning putty in the arms of Sakuno Ryuzaki.

"I hate this, Sakuno! They were all laughing at me!" She cried, burying her face at the shield of Sakuno's embrace.

"Who was?" Sakuno cooed as her fingers ran soothingly down her wailing friend's brown hair. Beside her, the tall teenager with the nicely tanned skin and black hair watched with little interest. Sakuno's gaze turned to him as he suddenly caught her attention with a simple gesture to the shop. And before Sakuno could say anything, her dear companion disappeared through the sliding doors of the shop her best friend was currently damning to hell.

"The effin chocolates, Sakuno! The effin chocolates!"

"The chocolates?" Sakuno repeated unsurely as she continued to soothe Tomoka with her gentle touch. "Nothing here is laughing at you, Tomo-chan." Pulling Tomoka carefully off her arms, Sakuno gazed firmly into her friend's hazel eyes and told her kindly. "You're stronger than this, Tomo, aren't you?"

Tomoka nodded with uncertainty.

"Where are we now?"

"I… in the middle of the sidewalk." Tomoka answered gloomily.

"And who are the only people who cry in the middle of the sidewalk?"

"Crazy people… and children." Tomoka said with a sad face. With a sudden realization dawning in her abruptly stimulated brain, she grew terribly red and lunged back into Sakuno's arms. Saying, in a squeaking voice, "Hide me!"

With that, Sakuno could only giggle at her friend's cuteness. It took a while, but eventually, Tomoka was back to her saner self.

"Ne, Tomo. I thought you were headed home?" Sakuno asked after a short while. "What are you doing downtown?"

"I—I went to get chocolates, you know. For tomorrow." She started with a few sniffles in her sentence. "But, then I turned into this."

"Anyway, who's that guy you were with? Looks hot." Tomoka grinned cheekily at Sakuno. Raising a brow at her friend, Sakuno told her in answer.

"That was Kaidoh-senpai, Tomo."

"Ka—Kaidoh-senpai?" Tomoka wailed as heat rushed to her face in embarrassment.

"To—Tomo." Sakuno called out unsurely, reaching out to her friend in fear of losing her to the wickedness of the universe once more.

"I can't believe he saw me like that!" She cried. "This is so embarrassing!"

"But, anyway." Tomoka suddenly said with an even voice, thoroughly leaving Sakuno in confusion towards her mood swings. "It's alright. At least he's not the type who talks."

"Shhhhh."

"Wah!" Both Sakuno and Tomoka exclaimed as a figure suddenly emerged beside them.

"I was able to get everything."

"Ka—Kaidoh-senpai!" Sakuno stuttered at the sight of Kaidoh. "I—you startled me."

"Why?" Kaidoh hissed in question as he looked back and forth at the two girls before him. Shaking her head, Sakuno told him it didn't matter.

"What's that?" Tomoka asked when the three started to head back home.

"Chocolates." Sakuno answered with a smile. "Kaidoh-senpai's mother agreed to teach me her recipe."

Beside her, Kaidoh hissed in confirmation.

"Really?" Tomoka exclaimed in amazement. "You're so lucky!"

"But then again, you're always lucky." Tomoka suddenly sniffled. "Why can't I get a boyfriend?" She suddenly cried out in frustration. Turning to Sakuno, she said with all honesty. "If I wasn't your friend, I would've damned all your chocolates to the flaming hells."

"Hai." Sakuno laughed. "Which is why I'm so glad to be your friend."

With her mood suddenly lifting, Tomoka returned her friend's smile.

"Anyway, this is my stop." Tomoka said as they soon approached her quaint residence. "Good luck with the chocolates!" She said as she bade the two good night.

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><p>Waking up the next day was like an apocalypse dying to happen. When Tomoka woke up to her screeching alarm clock, she automatically sat up on her bed with her eyes still shut closed and her auburn hair flying away in different angles. She reached out for her vibrating clock amidst the darkness. And with a bitter scowl forming on her face, she threw the wretched machine to her wall, soulfully knowing what day it was. After which she staggered drearily to the washroom.<p>

Next was walking to school. Her eyes glared at everything and everyone around her. Why was she the only person in mourning? Why was the world so cruel to only her? Why?

"Osakada-chan…" A voice called out. There was a hint of fear lingering in the tone of the speaker's voice. Looking around, Tomoka was surprised to see she was already seated inside the classroom. "Please give me back my chocolates."

"Huh?"

"Please, Osakada-chan!—"

"Kya!"

"Tomoka-chi! Don't bite the bags!" The voice cried suddenly. Tomoka looked beneath her and saw bite marks on a paper bag filled with different kinds of homemade chocolate.

"Gyeh!" Tomoka cried in shock, abruptly slapping away the bag in disgust. What was she doing? She looked around her once more. Everyone was looking back at her in fear. Suddenly, she realized. There wasn't even a single sight of anything wrapped in bright-colored paper.

"Tomo?"

"Thank god, you're here, Ryuzaki-chan!" A voice cried out in thanksgiving as Sakuno walked with purpose towards a rather fazed Tomoka.

"Sakuno?" Tomoka called out. "What's happening?"

"Tomo, you've been hiding chocolates again." Sakuno said, reprimanding. "Didn't you promise you were going to stop?"

"Huh? I've never hidden…" Sakuno raised Tomoka's desk cabinet, bringing to view several differently-shaped and colored chocolate bags and boxes. "…anything?"

"When? How? Wh—why?" Tomoka cried.

"Get a grip, Tomo!" Sakuno said sternly as she grabbed her friend's shaking hands.

"I—I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Tomoka cried yet again, suddenly springing up off her seat. Pushing Sakuno away, she crudely took a bunch of the chocolates on her desk cabinet into her arms and threw it at the people surrounding them. "There! Go get them, you sluts!" She cried before she dashed away from the growingly ecstatic crowd.

Tomoka huffed as she halted right by the drinking faucets near the school's tennis courts. Her faced was red as she tried to catch her breath.

"Stupid Valentine's Day." She hissed dangerously low as she wiped the sweat cruising down her temple with the back of her hand. "Stupid chocolates. Stupid, STUPID!"

"Shhhhh."

"Ka—Kaidoh-senpai!" Tomoka screamed as she spun around to find Kaidoh seated on the wooden bench behind her. "How long have you been there?"

"Longer than you." He hissed in answer. Tomoka shot her eyes around the vicinity, suddenly scanning it for other quiet spectators. Sighing at the sight of no other than Kaidoh Kaoru, Tomoka made her way to her upperclassman and took the seat beside him in exasperation.

"I hate this day! I damn this all to hell!" She cried yet again, earning nothing but another hiss from the renowned viper. "Why is it so damn hard to get a boyfriend? WHY?"

Pulling out a box of chocolates from her blouse pocket with a pink card sighed with love by some person she didn't even know for someone she didn't know as well, Tomoka sighed yet again. She opened the box and started consuming its sweet contents. Turning to her quiet, hissing companion, Tomoka raised her hand and held the box of goodies in front of him.

"Want some?" She asked amidst her muffled voice. Not bothering to answer, Kaidoh simply took a piece and started chewing himself. They sat in silence together.

"You don't need a boyfriend." Kaidoh suddenly said after quite some time.

"Huh?" Tomoka questioned as she turned to the young man beside her. Kaidoh didn't return her gaze and simply continued to tell her.

"You don't need a boyfriend. At this age, you'll just bring each other down… Isn't that why Echizen and your friend aren't dating?"

"I—" Tomoka choked, not knowing what to say. "How do you know?"

"I don't know." Kaidoh simply muttered as he started to stand up. Tying his orange bandana back over his black hair, he proceeded to jog in place.

"Are you leaving?" Tomoka asked hopefully, not knowing why she suddenly felt the pit of her stomach twist uneasily. Kaidoh nodded. And before he left, he told her simply.

"I don't have a girlfriend myself."

As Tomoka continued to sit on the bench, watching her senior's build fade into the distance, she couldn't help but question the butterflies forming in her stomach. Her face flushed unconsciously as Kaidoh's parting words repeated in her ears.

From that day on, she vowed she wouldn't cry anymore because of some stupid relationship problem, because if Kaidoh Kaoru didn't need anyone, then soon too would she. After that day, that encounter, Tomoka saw Kaidoh in a different light. And it was only the whole prism waiting in line.

When Tomoka returned to her class, she eventually made amends amidst the bitter hearts she spoiled that day. And when the day was over, she proceeded to Sakuno's classroom.

"Tomo-chan." Sakuno greeted with a beautiful smile. "Are you feeling better?"

Tomoka answered her with a simple nod.

"Yeah, sorry about earlier."

"It's okay." Sakuno replied as she continued packing her school bag. "I wasn't able to tell you earlier, but I have to go somewhere today. I'm sorry, but I won't be able to walk home with you."

"Nah, it's alright." Tomoka grinned. "Besides, I also have somewhere to go to."

"Really?" Sakuno wondered as she slung her school bag over her shoulder and walked towards Tomoka.

"Yeah." Tomoka said as her voice slowly drifted away. "Tell me, what do you think of Kaidoh-senpai?"

Sakuno couldn't help but smile.

"He's something, isn't he?"

Nodding, Tomoka told her dreamily.

"He is."

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><p>Sakuno adjusted the strap of her school bag over her shoulder for the nth time that afternoon as she continued to walk downhill towards a place she had been so familiar with. Her other hand busied itself with the small box it held by a supporting tie. So far, she's been walking for over twenty minutes, down the lane opposite her residence. And it didn't matter to her one bit.<p>

She had to deliver something. And that was what she planned to do.

As she continued walking quietly along the road, her eyes widened suddenly when she noticed a familiar figure emerge from a corner.

"Ryoma-kun!" She managed to call out amidst the light knots forming in her stomach. The tall figure halted to slowly turn around. And before Sakuno knew it, she was standing face to face with her handsome golden-eyed schoolmate.

"Ryuzaki?" Ryoma greeted in question as he eyed his friend.

"What are you doing here?" Sakuno couldn't help but blurt out in question. "I—I thought you've left for the States."

"No." Ryoma told her simply. "That's tomorrow. Today, I just went out for a game with the Monkey King."

"Atobe-san?" Sakuno asked in a tone of amusement. Ryoma nodded in answer, rendering Sakuno to chuckle at him. Raising a brow at his companion, Ryoma's lips curved into a knowing smirk as he asked the brunette in front of him what the matter was. "I'm sorry. I just wouldn't have thought you still called him that after such a long time."

"Well. It's a very fitting nickname." Ryoma told her quirkily. "So it stays."

"Hai, hai." Sakuno laughed.

"What's with the box?" Ryoma suddenly asked.

"Oh!" Sakuno mouthed in realization. "I was going over your house to give this to your family." She answered, holding out a box in front of Ryoma's face. With his face creasing comically at the proximity on which Sakuno held her precious box to his nose, he asked.

"What's that?"

"Cake." Sakuno answered simply, a smile forming on her flushed face. "For Valentine's."

"Ah." Ryoma said as he took the box from her hold. "That explains all of the chocolates stuffed in my bag earlier today."

Sakuno laughed yet again.

"Forever the neighbourhood's crush, neh Ryoma-kun?" Sakuno grinned at him cheekily. Ryoma frowned as he looked away, a soft tinge of pink drifted into his features.

"Not the whole neighbourhood, apparently." He whispered bitterly to himself. "Anyway, thanks for yet another treat."

"Don't mention it." Sakuno grinned. "I'll be going then."

"Hn." Ryoma grunted. Looking up at the setting sun, he continued to say. "Let me walk you home."

"No need." Sakuno told him from a distance. "Get your rest, Ryoma-kun! And eat the chocolates! They were all made with love for you!" She finished by flashing him another grin. And with that, she disappeared off into a distant corner, leaving Ryoma to stare at her silhouette over the horizon.

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><p>It just wasn't right.<p>

She should've told him. She knew.

He was leaving for another whole year again.

But she just wouldn't be able to take it. She was sure he would reject her. Sakuno smiled bitterly to herself as she continued on her trek home. But then again, if he does reject her, it wouldn't matter because he wouldn't be around. Plus, she couldn't bear it any longer, the agony of wanting to confess for the longest time.

She spun around, ready with her resolve. And dashed to where she left Ryoma.

"Ryuzaki?" Ryoma called out as Sakuno ran to him.

"Ryoma-kun." Sakuno breathed heavily. "I—I've like you for the longest time. And I just want you to know."

"You don't have to return my feelings. I—I just needed you to know." She said with a grin slowly forming on her features. She smiled to herself amidst Ryoma's shock. She felt lighter now that this one load was gone. She didn't wait for Ryoma's reply as she turned about and started to leave, thoroughly knowing what the only outcome of her sudden confession would be. This was why when she felt her arm being tugged from behind her, nothing but obvious bewilderment was written on her face as Ryoma leaned in to capture her lips with his.


End file.
